Oklahoma House: The Second Amendment Is Your Carry Permit

The Oklahoma House passed legislation Wednesday to abolish the need to get a state-issued permit before carrying a concealed handgun for self-defense.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1212, would allow Oklahoma residents ages 21 and up to carry without a permit so long as they were legal gun owners with no felony record.

News 9 reports that State Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa) opposed the bill and claimed law enforcement opposes it too.

State Rep. Jeff Coody (R-Lawton) countered Blancett, saying, “The Oklahoma State Bureau of investigation gets a great deal of money from the permitting process. So they simply are concerned about revenue over the freedom of law abiding citizens.”

State Rep. Scott Inman (D-Del City) also spoke in the opposition to the bill, asking if proponents of permitless carry also plan to “introduce legislation that eliminates speed limits in Oklahoma?”

Coody responded, “There’s nothing in the constitution about cars and driving and it’s not a constitutional right. It’s a privilege. But the right to self-defense, the right to carry keep and bear arms is a constitutional right.”

State Rep. Emily Virgin (D-Norman) raised the issue of slavery in an attempt to question the Founding Father’s intent with the Second Amendment. Yet SB-1212 passed by a vote of 59-28 and now moves to Senate.

There are currently 12 permitless carry states. They are Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. Two other states–Arkansas and Montana–allow residents to carry a gun in 99.4 percent of their respective states without a permit.